hoffman



A. J. HOFFMAN.

GLOVE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7. I912 1,193,785.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1| III n F l IIII I 22 ImIIIIIIgILI I A. I. HOFFMAN.

GLOVE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7, I9I2.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

m I I III IIIIIIIIII II 1 e y IIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIW I I I III 0., PNaTu-urnnv, vusnmsmm n m: NORRIS PEYERS c ADON J. HOFFMAN, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

GLOVE-WASHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

Application filed June 7, 1912. Serial No. 702,304.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoN J. HOFFMAN, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Glove-WVashing Machines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in glove washing machines of the class set forth in my pending application No. 725,498, filed October 12, 1912, and While it is designed more particularly for cleansing the more delicate qualities of kid and silk gloves, it is evident that it may be used for washing other articles of more or less fine texture or quality.

The main object is to produce in a machine of this character greater speed and efiiciency in washing materials of fine texture without liability of mutilation.

Another object is to provide for a limited axial movement of the uppermost brush so that it will automatically gravitate onto the interposed batch of gloves, thereby keeping such gloves under a yielding pressure sufficient to cause them to roll or turn under the action of the rotary brush.

A still further object is to mount the up per brush and portions of its driving mechanism directly upon a tiltable lid or cover for the vat and to guide the lid in its tilting movement against undue displacement from the vat and at the same time permitting the brush to stand edgewise in substantially a vertical position when the lid is tilted rearwardly to the limit of its movement, thus leaving a clear opening in the top of the vat in front of the rearwardly tilted brush for the removal of the washed gloves and replacement of another batch to be washed.

Other objects and uses relating to specific 7: parts of the machine will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a top plan and a front elevation of a glove washing machine embodying the various features of my invention. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the upper portion of the machine taken on line AA, Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the upper portion of the same machine showing the lid and parts carried thereby including the upper brush and part of its driving mechanism as tilted rearwardly. Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken on line BB, Fig. 2 showing part of the gears for driving and reversing the direction of rotation of the upper brush. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the reversing gears similar to that shown in Fig. 3 except that the pawl shifting cam is just about to shift the pawl from looking engagement with the lower gear to interlock with the upper gear. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the pawl carrying sleeve and clutch pawl thereon. Fig. 8 is a face view of the detached pawl shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main driving pulley and adjacent gear together with the clutch and its shifting mechanism, the adjacent end of the driving shaft being shown in elevation.

This washing machine comprises a vat l mounted upon a suitable supporting frame 2- and provided with a movable cover or lid 3, the latter being provided with a handle l by which it may be tilted upwardly and rearwardly in a manner hereinafter described. The vat 1 is adapted to contain a suitable quantity of washing fluid such as gasolene or other solvent and water and preferably consists of a cylindrical sheet metal shell having an inverted conical bottom -5, the apex of which is disposed in the produced axis of the vat and is provided with an outlet pipe 6 having a normally closed valve 7 capable of being opened at will to discharge the contents of the vat into any suitable receptacle provided therefor. The frame constitutes a standard for supporting the vat a convenient distance from the floor and is preferably provided at its upper end with ring segments8 embracing and secured to diametrically opposite sides of the upper end of the vat just below the lid or rather just below the rim forming the upper edge of the vat. Secured to these segments are diametrically opposite upwardly arched brackets -9- having correspondingly arched lengthwise slots 10 for receiving radial lugs 11 on diametrically opposite sides of the lid 3, the front ends of the slots being provided with vertically disposed branches -12 diametrically opposite each other to normally receive the lugs -11- and hold the lid against accidental lateral displacement during the washing operation.

The slots extend rearwardly a Suficient distance to permit the rear side of the lid to drop downwardly at the rear of the vat when said lid is tilted upwardly and rearwardly in the act of opening the vat as shown in Fig. 4:, the rear ends of the brackets -9 forming limiting stops 13' to hold the lid in its tilted position against accidental displacement from the brackets.

Vithin the vat are placed a pair of opposed circular brushes 14.- and 15, the diameters ofwhich are nearly equal to but slightly less than that of the interior of said vat so as to occupy substantially the full area thereof, each brush comprising a wood or equivalent back -16 and fiber bristles 17 of uniform length facing each other.

I preferably use brushes with fiber bristles which by reason of their light resiliency operate effectively upon the gloves or similar articles which are placed between the brushes without liability of mutilating 'or otherwise injuring the kid or fabric.

The back pieces 16 of each brush are substantially flat, that of the lower brush resting directly upon the upper edges of the conical bottom 5, thereby leaving a clear open space beneath said lower brush for the accumulation of any sediment and free with drawal of the washing fluid when desired. This lower brush 1l is preferably held against rotation either by frictional engagement with the upper edges of the conical I bottom -5 and adjacent sides of the vat but is freely removable upwardly through the top of the vat when it is necessary to remove or replace the same;

The upper brush 15 is provided with a vertically elongated hollow head l8- having an angular opening -19 in its upper end for receiving a correspondingly vided with an annular shoulder movable in the interior of the hub -18' but of greater diameter than the opening 19 to prevent downward displacement of the brush 15 from the spindle.

Brush cZm'oi/ng means-The spindle 21 and upper brush 15- are adapted to be rotated intermittingly in reverse directions approximately one complete revolution at a time, and for this purpose a pair of bevel gears 27 and 28- are loosely mounted upon the upper reduced portion of the shaft 21- at opposite ends of a sleeve 29- which is rigidly secured to said shaft or spindle and is provided with a vertical slot or guideway for receiving a double acting pawl 30.

The inner face of each of the gears 27- and 28 is provided with shoulders -31 for interlocking engagement with the adjacent end of the pawl 30, said pawl being alternately shifted in opposite directions to engage first one gear and then the other by means of a rotary cam 32- which is secured to the inner face of a pinion 3. This pinion meshes withand constitutes the driving means for the gears 27 and 28 and is secured to a horizontal counter shaft -34 having itsouter end provided with a spur gear 35. This gear -35" meshes with a pinion 36 on a main driving shaft 37, said pinion 36- being provided with a clutch face 38.

' Loosely mounted on the shaft 37 is a driving pulley -39- having its hub provided with a clutch -40- which is movable axially with the pulley into and out of interlocking engagementwith the clutch face 3S to lock the pulley to the shaft.

The means for operating the pulley and clutch axially consists of a shifting lever 41+ loosely journaled on the outer end of the shaft 37 and provided with a other; the clutch 40- will be thrown into interlocking engagement with the clutch 'face 38 against the action of a retracting spring45 as shownmore clearly in Figs. 1 and 9'. formed lower end 20 of an upright shaft The rotary movements of the gears 27,

:28 and -83 and also that of the ,cam and pawl 30 are timed so that on each downward movement by the cam 32, the pawl -30 is'engaged thereby and shifted into interlocking engagement with the gear 27 and on each upward movement of said cam, the pawl is shifted into interlocking engagement with the up- 'cam face 'e2 engaging a cooperative cam face 4-3 of a collar l4l, the latter per gear -28, thereby causing therotation of the brush first in one direction and then in the opposite direction.

Inoperation assuming that the lid and upper brush operating parts carried thereby are tilted rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4 and that a suitable quantity of washing fluid, as gasolene or other solvent,

or clean water is placed in the vat and that 'the clothes to be washed are placed upon the bristles of the lower brush -14 the .lid or'cover '3 is then brought to its operative position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 with the bristles of the upper brush resting upon the clothes on the lower brush, suflicient clearance being left between the shoulder 25 on the spindle 2l and upper end of the hub 18 to allow the bristles of the two brushes to come in close contact when not held apart by the interposed batch of clothes, thereby allowing the weight of the upper brush to rest upon said clothes. The shifting lever 41 is then operated from its normal position shown in Fig. 1 to throw the clutch 40 into interlocking engagement with the clutch face -38- of the gear 36, thereby transmitting rotary motion to the pinion 33 through the medium of the gear 35- and shaft 3 l. This operation of the pinion 33 causes a corresponding rotation of the gears 27 and 28 but owing to the fact that these gears are loose on the upright shaft or spindle 2l, it is evident that one of them will rotate idly without transmitting any rotary motion to the upper brush until the pawl 30 is forced into interlocking engagement with one of the gears by means of the cam 32-, which acts alternately upon opposite ends of the pawl to first lock it to one gear and then Copies of this patent may be obtained for to the other, thereby producing an intermittent rotation of the upper brush in opposite directions.

It will be observed that in tilting the lid 3 of the vat to and from its closed position, the gear 35 is moved into and out of mesh with its companion gear 36- said gear 35 together with the counter shaft 34 and other parts which are mounted upon the lid being movable bodily therewith.

What I claim is:

In a washing machine of the class described, the combination of a circular vat having diametrically opposite rearwardly extending brackets provided with lengthwise guide slots, a circular cover for the vat having diametrically opposite radial lugs riding in said slots and forming pivots about which the cover may turn, and a rotary brush-supporting shaft co-aXial with the cover and movable therewith about said pivots.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 4th day of June, 1912.

ADON J. HOFFMAN.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, E. A. THOMPSON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

